Jane du Pont Lunger (June 20, 1914 - September 18, 2001) was an American heiress, philanthropist, and an owner/breeder of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. A sixth-generation member of Delaware's prominent

Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its fo ...

, her father, Philip Francis du Pont, was a major benefactor to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Personal life

In 1934, Jane du Pont married Harry W. Lunger (1905–1976) who worked at

All American Aviation Company All American Aviation was an airline company founded by Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become Allegheny Airlines, then USAir and subsequently US Airways, with the latter's merger with American Airlines in 2013 crea ...

, a company founded by Richard du Pont and based in Wilmington, Delaware. During 1936-1937 the Lungers built "Oberod," a stone mansion on rural acreage at 400 Burnt Mill Road in the Brandywine River Valley about 8 miles from downtown

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. Oberod is now owned by the Wilmington-base

LabWare Laboratory glassware refers to a variety of equipment used in scientific work, and traditionally made of glass. Glass can be blown, bent, cut, molded, and formed into many sizes and shapes, and is therefore common in chemistry, biology, and anal ...

corporation, who use it as a training facility and to host special events. Her son

Brett Lunger Robert Brett Lunger (born November 14, 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American racecar driver. Lunger was educated at the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in V ...

was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, Formula 5000 and

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

racing driver.

Philanthropy

In 2005, the Jane du Pont Lunger Residual Charitable Trust donated $250,000 to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. which underwrites veterinary research projects dedicated to the well being of horses. Her estate and family are major contributors to the Delaware Art Museum.

Christiana Stables

In 1937, Jane and Harry Lunger established Christiana Stables, named for the community of Christiana, Delaware. Their first trainer was Selby Burch, son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, William Burch. Next, John Healey, son of Hall of Fame trainer

Thomas J. Healey Thomas J. Healey (born September 14, 1942) is an American businessman and educator. He was a partner at Goldman, Sachs & Co., and is Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He served in the 1980s as Assista ...

, took charge of Christiana Stables but he died at age 43 in 1947. Future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Henry Clark Henry Clark may refer to: Politicians * Henry Toole Clark (1808–1874), Governor of North Carolina, 1861–1862 * Henry Selby Clark (1809–1869), U.S. Representative from North Carolina * Henry A. Clark (New York politician) (1818–1906), New ...

took over and remained with the Lungers into the 1980s. He was followed by James Maloney,

William Badgett Jr. William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

and then James W. Murphy. The Lungers raced some 45 stakes winners, many of which they bred themselves. Among their successful runners were Miss Ferdinand, Cyane,

Dance Spell Dance Spell (1973–1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky by Harry and Jane Lunger's Christiana Stables. They entrusted his race conditioning to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James W. Maloney. As a two-year-old in ...

, Endine, Light Hearted,

Obeah Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region ...

, Salem, and

Thinking Cap Thinking Cap (1952-1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who successfully competed in major races from one mile to more than two miles. Background Out of the Heliopolis mare Camargo, Thinking Cap was sired by Rosemont who in turn was si ...

. Following the 1976 death of her husband, Jane Lunger continued racing and breeding and enjoyed success with horses such as 1982

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

winner,

Linkage Linkage may refer to: * ''Linkage'' (album), by J-pop singer Mami Kawada, released in 2010 *Linkage (graph theory), the maximum min-degree of any of its subgraphs *Linkage (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * Linkage (hierarchical cluster ...

. In 1986, Jane Lunger sent her

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

Obeah to

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

where she was bred to Deputy Minister. The mating resulted in the April 6, 1987 birth of Christiana Stables' greatest foal. A filly Mrs. Lunger named Go For Wand was born at Walnut Green Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania owned by her son-in-law, Richard I.G. Jones. After a stellar year in which Go For Wand won the 1989

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

she was voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

. In 1990 she won six Grade 1 races and earned her second Eclipse Award as the

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

. Go For Wand suffered a catastrophic injury while leading down the homestretch in the 1990

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or ...

and had to be humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

. She was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1980, Jane du Pont Lunger was recognized by the Thoroughbred Club of America as their Honored Lady Guest. Jane du Pont Lunger was still significantly involved with racing and breeding at the time of her death in 2001 at age eighty-seven.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunger, Jane Du Pont 1914 births 2001 deaths American racehorse owners and breeders American philanthropists People from Wilmington, Delaware Du Pont family Delaware Republicans